Misc episode of the 50's TV series "You Asked For It", featuring a America's tallest man(?), largest star sapphire in the world, and a frightning attack by a python, among other things. Not "reality TV" but not quite a documentry either, falling somewhere between the two genres.
Reviewer:
olderthanbw
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April 19, 2012
Subject:
Both, to answer the question about which network this was on.
My 1979 edition of "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows" has this program beginning on DuMont on December 29, 1950. It was first named "The Art Baker Show" but the title changed on April 13, 1951 to "You Asked For It." The last DuMont broadcast was in December 1951, and the show moved to ABC that same month. In the Dumont run it was on Fridays from 8:30-9:00. Its ABC run lasted until September 1958. From December 1951-March 1952 it ran on Monday 9:00-9:30, from April 1952-Jan. 1958 it ran Sunday 7:00-7:30, then from January 1958 until April 1958 it ran from 9:30-10:00. It moved back to the Sunday 7:00-7:30 slot from April 1958 until its run ended in September 1959. Jack Smith replaced Art Baker as host beginning with the January 26, 1958 show.
I remember this show, and depended on what the subject of the particular show was whether or not it was very interesting.
Reviewer:
zigoto
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April 17, 2012
Subject:
You Asked For It.
Season 1, episode 14.
Original air date: 5 April 1951.
Cast: Art Baker (Host), Arthur Lee Simpkins, Star sapphire 728 carats, log-rollers in action, a huge python, an Eskimo building an iglo and America's talles man
Reviewer:
Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan
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April 17, 2012
Subject:
Then again....
Out of the first 4 episodes uploaded, this is easily the weakest. Charming relic, but not much more. It is probably only worth 2/5, but I give it 3/5 largely due to the appearance of a singer named Arthur Lee Simpkins. (useless trivia: he also appears in one of the surviving episodes of "Cavalcade of Stars". Curiously, that episode also featured Georgia Gibbs, who later gained fame (and much later notoriety) by covered songs by Black artists. Needless to say, I hope somebody uploads the episode one day!)
BTW, what network did this air on? ABC? DuMont?
The bare-bones production values seem to hint at DuMont. That said, ABC's pre-1953 live telecasts are very rare too (ABC was struggling at the time as well, despite having a radio network), so I haven't enough of their series to know their production style of the time.
Anyone able to do further research?
Overall, I think there are better examples of this unusual series on the Internet Archive, but hey, at least the Skippy Peanut Butter commercials are intact!
...and I'm sick of DVD publishers putting their logo in the corner. We're glad you are putting these rare old shows on DVD and we will continue to support you, but those super-imposed logos suck...and judging by the fact this upload exists, they don't work either!